Violence scares, bewilders residents

Recent slayings in South Bend lead CeaseFire to try to make difference.

Recent slayings in South Bend lead CeaseFire to try to make difference.

July 21, 2006|TOM MOOR Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Temperatures soared this week, and so did the violence. Three slayings in just over a week in St. Joseph County have left some residents shaken. That includes Africa Roeder, a mother of five who lives in the 500 block of North Blaine Avenue in South Bend. She's had to deal with some of that violence firsthand. Her 11-year-old son, Ira, was beaten along that block two weeks ago by a group of teenagers. On Monday, her 9-year-old son, Izayah, was kicked in the chest by a stranger, leaving him with heavy bruising. And around 12:05 a.m. Tuesday, her 16-year-old son, DaJour, was standing about 2 feet away from his friend, Dominique Nance, when Nance was shot. Nance later died at an area hospital. "I'm moving to get my babies out of here," Roeder said Thursday afternoon. "This is too much for me. Nobody can replace my kids. They're too precious to me." Many residents, including Roeder and her children, were standing outside their homes Thursday on Blaine Avenue -- about 200 feet from where Nance was shot and just down the road from a memorial set up for him. A group of teenagers from the CeaseFire program handed out fliers aimed at reducing the gun violence in South Bend. "Hopefully, it will have an effect," said Jujuan Bates, 15, who is a member of CeaseFire. There have been four killings in South Bend since June 18 and two since Tuesday, according to South Bend police spokesman Capt. Phil Trent. There was also a slaying victim found in Osceola last week. Trent said it's been a long time since he can remember so much crime in such a short period of time. "This is uncharacteristic," Trent said Thursday. He said some residents have been calling the South Bend Police Department looking for answers. "I think everyone is asking each other these questions," he said. "They're looking at each other and asking, 'What's going on here?'æ" During a stretch in early July, there were three stabbings in a week, two of which led to serious injuries. The violence has been steady since the end of last week. Members of CeaseFire were walking around the block on Blaine Avenue Thursday trying to help stop the violence. CeaseFire coordinator Rey Newbill recruits teenagers -- many of whom come from tough upbringings -- to join the group. He doesn't want to see them on the news either dead or involved with a death. "We want to keep these kids off the streets," he said. "The violence is a wake-up call for a lot of them. It shows it can happen to anybody." Lars Shaw, 17, said the program has helped him straighten out his life. "It's helped people get jobs, and it's kept me off the streets," he said. Shaw said he's aware of the current string of violence, and it's unsettling to him. "It's real stupid out there right now," he said. "You say something, and it could turn into a fight and you get shot." "I'm not sure if (CeaseFire) is going to stop the violence, but hopefully it will calm it down."